Manufacture of doll eyes



, S. MARCUS MANUFACTURE OF DOLL EYES Sept. 2, 1941.

Filed Sept.. 16, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVE 252M054 M476:

ATTORNEY Sept. 2, 1941. s. MARCUS 7 MANUFACTURE OF DOLL EYES Filed Sept. 16, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A l il 4 M. 7

- INVENTOR 640/051 M/FCd .Y E N Mm r A Y B Patented Sept. 2, 1941 MANUFACTURE or non. ms

Samuel Marcus, Jersey City, N; 1., assign:- to

Margon Corporation, Bayonne, N. 1., a corporation of New Jersey Application September 16, 1938, Serial No. 230,217

21 Claims. (Cl. 46-185) This invention relates to doll eyes, and more particularly to such eyes provided with a socalled lens to simulate the iris and pupil Portions of the eye.

The primary object of my invention is to generally improve doll eyes of the above specified character.

Doll eyes have been made which comprise a sheet metal shell simulating the eye ball, and apertured to receive a lens, said lens being made of a suitable transparent material such as Celluloid and being secured to the eye shell by interlocking the edge of the lens with the edge of the metal at the periphery of the lens opening. Difliculty arises because the Celluloid after aging tends to shrink. This loosens the interlocking fit between the lens and the eye shell, for there is very little stock available to interlock the same,

inasmuch as the outside of the lens is kept flush with the outside of the-shell. One object of my invention is to overcome this diiiiculty.

Further difflculty has arisen in providing such eyes with an eyelash. The lash cannot be secured directly in the eye shell by slitting the shell at the top of the lens because such procedure greatly weakens the attachment of the lens to the eye shell. The lash may, of course, be attached to a separate outer shell surrounding the eye shell, and this can be done with satisfaction on a so-called rolling eye, in which the outer shell is anyway needed. However, in dealing with ordinary sleeping eyes, that is, eyes which merely open and close but do not roll, it increases the cost of the eye if a separate outer shell or eye lid member is provided solely for the purpose of holding the lash in position. A further object of my invention is to overcome the foregoing difliculties and to provide a doll eye in which the lashis mounted directly in a slit cut through the eye shell without, however, in any way weakening the attachment of the lens to the eye shell.

The foregoing objects are fulfilled broadly by securing the lens to the eye shell at a point remote from the lash and remote from the periphery of the lens, most conveniently, the center. More specifically, the eye shell is indented to form a cavity or seat dimensioned to receive the lens. This effectually prevents any possibility of pushing the lens inwardly through the eye shell. The lens is itself provided with a fastener embedded in the lens, preferably at the center or pupil. The free end of this fastener projects rearwardly from the lens'and passes through the it is spread or riveted outwardly to hold the lens in position. The pupil of the eye is blackened, and thismakes the fastener unnoticeable from the front of the lens; The color background or iris coloring of the eye may be provided directly on the eye shell itself, as by appropriately litho- 1 graphing the eye shell material while still in fiat sheet form. Thisattachment of the lens is not only a particularly strong and reliable one, but is wholly independentof the lash mounting. and I 'find that it is possible to slit the eye shell and apply an eye lash thereto either before or after attaching the lens, or without in any way impairing the security of the lens mounting.

To the accomplishment of the foregoing, and such other objects as will hereinafter appear, my invention consists in the-doll eye elements and their relation one to the other, as hereinafter are more particularly described in the specification and sought to be defined in the claims. The specification is accompanied by drawings, in which:

Fig. l is a partially sectioned elevation through a die and is explanatory of a step in the manu-'- facture of a cup-shaped eyelet for use with the lens of the eye;

Fig. 2 is a similar view, showing the die in closed condition;

Fig. 3 schematically illustrates the application of the eyelet to a lens disk:

Fig. 4 is a similar view with the die in closed condition;

Fig. 5 is a front view of an eye shell to be used as a part of the invention, and illustrates the printing of the same;

Fig. 6 is a rear elevation of a lens blank;

Fig. 7 is a side'elevation of the same;

Fig. 8 is a rear view of the fastener or eyelet;

Fig. 9 is a longitudinal section through the same;

Fig. 10 is a rear view of the lens after the eyelet has been applied thereto, as indicated in Figs. 3 and 4;

Fig. 11 is a section through the lens;

Fig. 12 is a fragmentary section through a die showing the manner in which the lens is secured to the eye shell: 7

Fig. 13 is a partially sectioned elevation schematically illustrating the manner in which the eye is slit or incised p eparatory to receiving an eyelash:

14 is a partially sectioned, elevation schematically illustrating a die for locking an recessed or seat portion of the eye shell where eyelash in the slit, this figure showing the die in open condition;

Fig. is a similar view showing the die in closed condition; and

Fig. 16 is a section through a completed doll eye constructed in accordance with the present invention.

Referring to the drawings, and more particularly to Fig. 16, the doll eye comprises a sheet metal eye shell I2 having a part indented to form a recess or seat l4 for receiving and supporting a transparent lens IS. The lens cannot be pushed inwardly because it is supported by the indented wall M. The lens is held in position and cannot fall outwardly because it is secured by fastening means [8, the head 20 of which is preferably embedded in the material of the lens, and the free end 22 of which is expanded or riveted outwardly to lock the lens in position.

The eye shell is slit near the top of the lens, as is indicated at 24, and an eyelash 26 is inserted through the slit 24 and is locked in position thereby. It may, if desired, be additionally secured in place by means of a suitable cement or adhesive indicated at 28, but this is not essential, and in any event, the locking of the lash in position by closing of the slit 24 is convenient even when using a cement, because it holds the lash in position during the cementing operation and until the cement has had an opportunity to dry or set.

It will be noted that the lens is secured to the eye shell at the center of the lens and therefore at a point remote from the periphery of the lens. In fact, the attachment is wholly independent of the condition of the parts at the periphery of the lens. For this reason,.no difilculty arises as a result of slitting the shell for the eyelash mounting even though the eyelash slit is necessarily disposed very close to the top edge of the lens.

Considering the invention in greater detail, and referring now to Figs. 1 and 2 of th drawings, the fastener is preferably a cup-shaped eyelet. To make the same, thin sheet metal material is first stamped and drawn to cup shape, the part then having the configuration shown at 30 in Fig. 1. This preliminary cup-shaped member does not have an undercut head and it may be formed in a conventional die which need not be illustrated or described in detail.

The die schematically shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is intended to deform the member 30 to form a head at the closed end thereof. For this purpose, the member 30 is placed on top of a pin 32 of reduced diameter, said pin being resiliently supported by means of a spring 34. The die is, of course, mounted in a conventional press, and when the head of the press descends, the member 30 is squeezed downwardly into the lower part of the die, while the top is pressed outwardly in the manner indicated at I 8 in Fig. 2. When the die is opened, the pin 32 rises under the influence of spring 34, thus stripping the eyelet from the lower half of the die.

The resulting eyelet is embedded in the lens by means of a die, such as is schematically illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4. A lens blank 36 is placed in the lower or female part of the die. The eyelet I8 is slipped over the lower end of a plunger 40 which is movable relatively to sleeve 42 of the upper part of the die. The lens blank 36 is preferably preliminarily heated or warmed so as to increase its plasticity or flowability under pressure. When the die is closed, as shown in Fig. 4, the head of the eyelet I8 is embedded in the lens blank.

The blank 36 may be stamped from flat sheet stock, and in such case the lens may be finished to desired configuration by the die here under discussion. Referring to Fig. 11, the lens preferably has a curved outer face 44, a frustroconical inner wall 46, and a series of radial indentations or iris lines 48. Reverting now to Figs. 3 and 4, it will be seen that the movable insert 50 of the lower die has a curved or spherical surface 52, and that the lower end 54 of the upper part of the die is given a frustro-conlcal shape and is provided with radial teeth or serrations to form the desired ir'm-lines. Thus, when the die closes, it deforms the flat blank 36 into the shaped lens I6 and provides the lens with the eyelet or fastener i8. When th die is opened, the finished piece is stripped therefrom which the aid of movement of the parts 66 and 40 relative to the parts 58 and 42 respectively.

The desired coloration of the eye is obtained in the following manner. Referring to Fig. 5, I show a front elevation of an eye shell l2. This is preferably made of sheet metal. The fiat sheet metal stock is preliminarily printed or lithographed with a flesh-colored portion 60 corresponding to the eyelid, a white colored portion 62 corresponding to the eyeball, and an iris portion 64. The iris portion 64 may be colored blue, brown or gray, depending on the desired color for the eye. Moreover, the iris portion is preferably provided with a series of radial lines, indicated at 66, which help carry out the desired iris effect. Circular blanks are stamped from the sheet metal stock and are drawn to approximately hemispherical shape, in accordance with conventional practice. The hemi-spherical blank is then treated in another die to form the desired indentation, or recess, or lens seat designated [4 in Fig. 16. The complete shaping of the eye shell may be performed in a single die, but I prefer to make the eye shell in two operations, as described, because otherwise it is difficult to obtain the desired clean, accurate, sharply defined, and well sunk recess for the lens. It is important to form the recess well, because when the lens is secured therein, the shell and lens should together form an approximately smooth, continuous, hemi-spherical surface.

The center of the lens seat is perforated to form an aperture dimensioned to receive the eyelet. This perforation of the lens seat may be performed by the same die that indents the lens seat, and a separate perforating operation is not necessary.

It will be understood that because of the transparent nature of the lens material, the iris coloration on the shell is visible through the lens. It will also be understood that it is not essential to provide the iris coloration on the shell, for it may be provided in back of the lens, or it may be provided by means of a small paper washer jor disk which is interposed between the lens and;

the eye shell.

It is also necessary to provide a dark black center portion for the lens, this corresponding to the pupil of the eye. The black center may be formed in either, or both, of two ways. Referring to Figs. 6 and 7, it will be seen that the lens blank 36 has deposited thereon a circle of black paint or ink 68. When the fastener I6 is embedded in the lens. this black material comes between the head of the fastener and the lens, as is indicated at 68 in Fig. 11. The area of the black part 68 on lens blank 36 is not very critical. It should on the one hand exceed the diameter of the head of the fastener, so that it comes part way around the head, as is shown in Fig. 11. It should, on the other hand, be small enough not to comeall the way down the side walls of the eyelet and then spread radially outwardly over a part of the iris area. There is a considerable range or tolerance between these extreme limits, and this is a manufacturing convenience, for it makes the application of the black area 68 a less expensive and more rapidly performed step. Instead of coloring the center black, as at El, the entire sheet of Celluloid may be coated black before stamping out the lens discs. Then the back of the disc may be shaved away or frazed at the outer annular part, leaving the black center I. The frazing may also thin the edge somewhat compared to the middle.

The other manner of producing the desired black pupil is to blacken the fastener l8 itself. This may be done by heat treating the fastener to give it a black or gun metal finish. It may also be done by painting or lacquering the fastener. Thus, it may be tumbled in a barrel with paint in it, and then dropped from the top of a tower, over a great height in order to insure drying and separation of the individual eyelets. Several coats of paint may be given in this manner to insure a good and complete coverage.

Both methods may be used in the same lens, that is, the blackened area I! of Fig. 6 and the blackened eyelet with the coating 10 in Fig. 9. The coating 68 is desirable so that the pupil will not be marred in the event of a small space or air bubble being formed between the eyelet and the lens material. The coating 10 is desirable so that the pupil will be perfect even if the area 68 is marred or scratched, with consequent removal of a small amount of black material. The finished lens is then as shown in Figs. -10 and 11, and is ready for mounting in the eye shell. With a good heavy coat at 88 (as when the frazing" method is used) that coat alone is sunicient.

Referring now to Fig. 12, the lens I6 is secured to the shell I! by means of a suitabletool or die such as that schematically illustrated. The die comprises a part 12 on which the shell I! is positioned. The lens It is seated on the shell with the free end of the eyelet passing through the lens seat. The punch 14 is at this time in depressed position, as is indicated by the broken lines 14', or the part 12 is elevated relative to punch 14 as by means of a spring.

- When the top part 16 of the die descends, it

presses the lens into the shell and produces a smooth flush exterior. At the same time, the lower or free end of the eyelet is forced downwardly against the conical upper end of punch 14, thus spreading or riveting the eyelet so that it is locked to the eye shell.

The eyelash may be applied to the shell either I before or after attaching the lens. I prefer to attach the lash after attaching the lens, and this may be done by means of dies such as those schematically shown in Figs. 13, 14, and l5. The die of Fig. 13 slits the shell. It comprises a part 80 on which the shell I2 is placed. A severing punch 82 descends and not only slits the material, but bends a lip 84 of material inwardly so that the slit is opened widely for easy insertion of the lash and particularly the thickened foundation or base of the lash. The shell I2 is preferablynotched or recessed, as is indicated at 86, these recesses having to do with the subsequent mounting of the eye on a cross-rod. The recesses may be used and are used to help orientate and properly fix the location of the eye shell relative to the slitting punch 82.

The eyelash 26 is then inserted through the eyelash slit and the slit is closed to clamp the lash in position, as by means of the die shown in Figs. 14 and 15. This die comprises a support on which the eye is placed, said support engag ng the inwardly turned lip 84. The upper part 92 of the die descends from the open position of Fig. 14 to the closed position of Fig. 15, thus pressing the lip 84 back upwardly and clamping the lash in position. The die is preferably also provided with an auxiliary member 94 which may be moved outwardly, as shown in Fig. 14, when loading or unloading the die, and which may be moved inwardly to the position shown in Fig. 15 preparatory to closing of the die. The head 96 of the die carries an adjustable screw 98 which bears against the part 84 and holds it tightly against the eye during the lash clamping operation. The adjustment of screw 98 is made such that part 84 prevents distortion of the shell wall during the descent of the punch 92.

The lash is held securely by the clamping operation, but if desired it may be additionally secured in position by means of some cement or adhesive, and referring to Fig. 16, it will be seen that a coating 28 has been applied inside the shell and over and around the base or foundation I00 of the eyelash. The lash clamping step is desirable even when using the adhesive because it holds the lash in position while applying the adhesive and while waiting for the same to dry.

It is believed that the improved doll eye of my invention, and the method of manufacturing the same, as well as the many advantages thereof, will be app rent from the foregoing detailed description. The lens is held on the eye shell very securely. It cannot be pushed inwardly as it is backed up by metal. No cementing is necessary. No metal color cup or special color disk is needed inside the lens, for the iris color may be provided directly on the main shell as a part of the regular lithography. The black pupil may be formed without being too critical in dimension or location. The fastener may itself be used to simulate the pupil. The desired opacity at the pupil makes the fastener unnotlceable from the front of the lens, even though the lens is made of transparent material. There is economy in manufacture because the lens shape, and the iris lines in back of the lens, and the embedding and attachment of the fastener or rivet to the lens, are all obtained in a single operation. The lens mounting remains secure despite drying out or shrinkage of the lens.

Still another and perhaps the most important single advantage of the invention is the ability to use a solid transparent lens and an eyelash directly on a single eye shell. With a solid lens secured to an eye shell at the periphery of the lens, the lash slit could not satisfactorily be made directly in the eye shell. If the slit were made before attaching the lens, it was not possible to lock the lens satisfactorily in place, and if the lens were attached first, then the shell could not be later slit without spoil ng the attachment of the lens. The lash was, therefore, held on a separate shell. The present improved eye will receive a lash directly in the shell either before or after applying the lens.

It will be un erstood that the lash slit and lash attachment may, if desired, be performed prior to the mounting of the lens on the eye. The lens may be molded by injection molding of a suitable plastic such as cellulose acetate or Lucite," instead of by pressing the same from sheet material. A rivet or attaching portion may be formed directly out of the lens material instead of a separate metallic'fastener being inserted in the lens. This aspect of the invention is completely disclosed and is specifically claimed in my copending application, Serial Number 261,163, filed March 11, 1939. The blackening at the pupil may be obtained in a number of ways, as described. For the foregoing reasons,

it will be apparent that while I have shown and described my invention in a. preferred form, many changes and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit of the invention defined in the following claims.

I claim:

1. A doll eye comprising an eyeshell having a part indented at the iris to receive a lens and to support the back of said lens, a transparent lens seated in the indented part of the shell, said lens being localized to the iris of the eye and having a diameter, equalling the diameter of the iris, and means projecting rearwardly from the center of said lens, said means having a diameter substantially smaller than the iris diameter and passing through a mating hole in the indented part of the shell and functioning to secure the lens to the eyeshell.

2. A doll eye comprising a generally hemispherical eyeshell made of sheet metal and having a part indented at the iris to form a seat to receive a lens, a transparent lens localized to the iris of the eye and having a diameter equalling th diameter of the iris, said lens having a curved outer surface conforming to the surface of a sphere, a frustro-conical inner surface adapted to rest against and be supported by said lens seat, and means projecting rearwardly from the center of said lens, said means having a diameter substantially smaller than the iris diameter and passing through a hole in the lens seat and functioning to thereby secure the lens to the eyeshell.

3. An iris lens for a doll eye, said lens comprising a generally circular piece of transparent material having a convex face, a smaller circular portion at the center of said lens being black and opaque to act as a pupil simulation, and a headed fastener embedded in the rear of the lens at the pupil, the free end of said fastener projecting rearwardly from the lens, the fastener being unnoticeable from the convex front of the lens because of the blackening at the pupil.

4. A doll eye comprising an eyeshell having a portion indented at the iris to receive a lens, a lens seated in and against the indented part of the shell, and a fastener embedded in the lens at the pupil, the free end of said fastener passing through the lens seat and functioning to secure the lens to the eyeshell.

5. A doll eye comprising an eyeshell having a portion indented at the iris to receive a lens, a lens seated in and against the indented part of the shell, and a fastener embedded in the lens at the pupil, said lens being blackened at the fastener to form a pupil which conceal the fastener, the free end of said fastener passing through the lens seat and functioning to secure the lens to the eyeshell.

6. A doll eye comprising an eyeshell having a portion indented at the iris to receive a lens. a lens seated in and against the indented part of the shell, and a headed fastener embedded in the lens at the pupil. said fastener being blackened to form a pupil, the free end of said fastener passing through the lens seat and functioning to secure the lens to the eyeshell.

7. A doll eye comprising a generally hemispherical sheet metal eyeshell having a portion indented at the iris to receive a lens. a lens made of Celluloid or like transparent material and having a spherical outer surface, a fnistro-conlcal inner surface, and a sheet metal eyelet embedded in the lens at the pupil, said eyelet being blackened and said lens being blackened at the eyelet to form a black pupil at the center of the iris, the free end of said eyelet passing through the lens seat and being riveted outwardly to secure the lens to the eyeshell.

8. A doll eye comprising an eyeshell having a portion indented at the iris to receive a lens, a lens having a headed fastener embedded therein at the pupil, the free end of said fastener passing through the shell and functioning to secure the lens to the shell, said shell being slit to receive a lash, and a lash inserted in said slit and secured in place directly on the shell.

9. A doll eye comprising an eyeshell having a portion indented at the iris to receive a lens, a lens having a fastener embedded therein at the pupil, said lens being blackened at the fastener to form a black pupil and to conceal the fastener, the free end of said fastener passing through the shell and functioning to secure the lens to the shell, said shell being slit near the lens to receive a lash, and a lash inserted in said slit and secured in place directly on the shell.

10. A doll eye comprising an eyeshell having a portion indented at the iris to receive a lens, a lens having a headed fastener embedded therein at the pupil, said fastener being blackened to form a black pupil at the center of the iris, the free end of said fastener passing through the shell and functioning to secure the lens to the shell, said shell being slit near the lens to receive a lash, and a lash inserted in said slot and secured in place directly on the shell.

11. A doll eye comprising a generally hemispherical sheet metal eyeshell having a portion indented at the iris to receive a lens, a lens made of Celluloid or like transparent material and having a spherical outer surface, a frustro-conical inner surface, and a sheet metal eyelet embedded in the lens at the pupil, said eyelet being blackened and said lens being blackened at the eyelet to form a black pupil at the center of the iris, the free end of said eyelet passing through the shell and being riveted outwardly to secure the lens to the shell, said shell being slit immediately adjacent the lens to receive a lash, and a lash inserted in said slit and secured in place directly on the shell.

12. In the manufacture of doll eyes, the method which includes forming an eyeshell, forming a fastener having a headed end. stamping a disk of sheet Celluloid to form an embryo lens, embedding the head of the fastener in the lens and at the same time shaping the lens to desired shape, and thereafter attaching the lens to the eyeshell by passing the free end of the fastener through a hole in the eyeshell, and securing the fastener and with it the lens to the eyeshell.

13. In the manufacture of doll eyes, the method which includes forming an eyeshell, forming a. sheet metal eyelet having a closed circular head, stamping a disk of Celluloid to form an embryo lens, embedding the head of the eyelet in the lens and at the same time shaping the lens to have a spherical outer wall, a. frustro-conical inner wall, and radial iris lines, and to secure the lens about the head of the eyelet, and thereafter attaching the lens to the eyeshell by passing the free end of the eyelet through a hole in the eyeshell, and riveting the end of the eyelet outwardly to secure the lens in place.

14. In the manufacture of doll eyes, the method which includes first securing a lens to an eyeshell at the center of the lens, then slitting the eyeshell adjacent the edge of the lens, and then inserting an eyelash in the slit.

15. In the manufacture of doll eyes, the method which includes first securing a lens to aneyeshell at the center of the lens, then slitting the eyeshell adjacent the edge of the lens, then inserting an eyelash in the slit, and then closing the slit to secure the lash in place.

16. In the manufacture of doll eyes, the method which includes forming an eyeshell, indenting the same to form a lens seat perforated at the center, forming a fastener having a headed end, embedding the fastener in a lens, attaching the lens to the eyeshell by passing the free end of the fastener through the hole in the eyeshell, and securing the fastener and the lens to the eyeshell, slitting the eyeshell adjacent the lens, and inserting an eyelash in the slit.

17. In the manufacture of doll eyes, the method which includes forming a sheet metal eyeshell, indenting the same to form a lens seat perforated at the center, forming a sheet metal eyelet having a closed circular head, stamping a disk of Celluloid to form an embryo lens, embedding the head of the eyelet in the lens and at the same time shaping the lens to have a spherical outer wall, a frustro-conical inner Wall, and radial iris lines, and to secure the lens about the eyelet, the head of said eyelet acting as a pupil, attaching the lens to the eyeshell by passing the free end of the eyelet through the hole in the-eyeshell, riveting the end of the eyelet outwardly to secure the lens in place, slitting the eyeshell adjacent the lens, inserting an eyelash in the slit, and closing the slit to secure the lash in place.

18. A doll eye comprising an eyeshell, a circular lens for the iris and pupil portions of said eyeshell, means at the center of said lens securing said lens to the eyeshell at the center of the lens and independently of the periphery of the lens, said shell being slit adjacent the periphery of the lens, and an eyelash passing through said slit and secured to said shell.

19. A doll eye comprising a. generally hemispherical eyeshell made of sheet metal and having a part indented at the iris to form a seat for receiving a lens, a transparent lens localized to the iris of the eye and having a diameter equalling the diameter of the iris, said lens having a curved outer surface conforming generally to the surface of th eyeshell, an inner surface adapted to rest against and be supported by said lens seat, the said inner surface being provided with radial serrations or indentations to simulate iris lines, and

means projecting rearwardly from the center of ing a part indented at the iris to form a seat for receiving a lens, a transparent lens localized to the iris of the eye and having a diameter equalling the diameter of the iris, said lens having a curved outer surface conforming generally to the surface of the eyeshell, an inner surface adapted to rest against and be supported by said lens seat, and means projecting rearwardly from the center of said lens, said means having a diameter substantially smaller than the iris diameter and passing through a mating bolt in the lens seat and functioning to thereby secure the lens to the eyeshell, said lens being blackened at the rearwardly projecting means to simulate the pupil of the eye.

21. A doll eye comprising a generally hemispherical eyeshell made of sheet metal and having a part indented at the iris to form a seat for receiving a lens, a. transparent lens localized to the iris of the eye and having a diameter equalling the diameter of the iris, said lens having a curved outer surface conforming generally to the surface of the eyeshell, an inner surface adapted to rest against and be supported by said lens seat, said inner surface being provided with radial serrations or indentations to simulate iris lines, and means projecting rearwardly from the center 'of said lens, said means having a diameter substantially smaller than the iris diameter and passing through a mating hole in the lens seat and functioning to thereby secure the lens to the eyeshell, said lens being blackened at the rearwardly projecting means to simulate the pupil of the eye, the cross-sectional area of the rearwardly projecting means corresponding sub stantially to the desired pupil area.

SAMUEL MARCUS. 

